What is the best time for app revenue? When do game downloads surge? We worked with Newzoo to analyze app revenue and downloads in 2016, and identified peak times of the year. Read about three of the top trends we uncovered.

If your app has a subscription with multiple subscription periods, such as monthly and annual, you may not realize there are two ways to set up the subscription in Amazon’s Developer Portal. One of these ways may lead to a poor customer experience.

According to a new report from Newzoo, global app revenues are expected to reach $80.6Bn by 2020. While consumer spending in games is expected to achieve a 17.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), the increasing popularity of entertainment, music, and social categories, as well as consumer willingness to pay for these types of apps, will see consumer spending in apps achieve a 30.2% CAGR.

The report breaks down regional differences in revenue growth between apps and games as well as pinpointing the biggest opportunities for developers in these regions. According to the report, mature markets such as North America and Europe will see the slowest growth over the next 5 years. For game developers, China offers a promising opportunity as the online population here continues to grow, and localized content becomes available.

Download the report to learn more about the global app market and areas of opportunity for developers.

You work hard to convert your non-spenders (or at least I do in my apps and games). But have you ever thought about turning non-converting users into agents of positive change? Or did you realize that you could earn more money as a result of doing good. I didn't!

But then I learned about Seeds, and a discovery they made: giving non-payers the opportunity to make in-app purchases for good could be the most powerful conversion tool there is. Seeds found that non-paying users are 58% more likely to spend when their purchase is for good. And these newly converted payers go on to spend an average of $25.

The kicker: Seeds focuses on for-profit, sustainable forms of social good such as microloans. These microloans are a form of sustainable social good because they’re interest-bearing, and the capital can be lent out again and again as loans are repaid. In most regions, default rates are lower than 2%.

This sounded interesting, but when I discussed Seeds with my colleagues, we assumed it would be a pretty hard sell to convince developers who are already struggling with low IAP conversion rates to give up some of those earnings to support a for-profit organization, regardless of how noble the cause may be.

There are a lot of considerations you want to consider when developing a game, from IAP design, to level difficulty and more. While some of the basic considerations, such as “fun and engaging” go without saying, there’s an additional requirement that successful developers are increasingly taking into consideration when designing a mobile game: longevity.

Incorporate ongoing, perpetual content

In a study of the top-grossing freemium games in the Amazon Appstore, we found that 56% of a game’s revenue occurs after the first 30 days. And the players that stick around past the 30-day mark are willing to spend 60% more for in-app purchase items.

The depressing news is that about 80% of the users in our study didn’t launch the games again after the 7-day mark.

So how do you encourage more of those 80% to stick around? One solution is to design your game with a strategic approach of perpetual content. In other words, carefully create a plan to deliver ongoing, changing content. This is the approach that Wooga takes with their hidden object games, and they have been successful in their design goal to “make games fun for a year”! As a result, their customers have rewarded them with significantly higher revenues.

One of the biggest challenges I have in my apps is keeping users interested. If you share this challenge, you might be interested in some things that we’ve learned in the Amazon Appstore, and some simple things we found that work well to keep customers engaged.

First and foremost: customer expectations are really high. No wonder, there are so many apps available—it’s easy for them to simply delete my app and download another.

Consider this: According to Google, the average user downloads about 26 apps on their mobile device. And because average users only spend about two hours a day using apps, there isn’t much time to convince customers that your mobile game is where they should be spending their time.

How can we keep the interest of users that are swamped with a million things to do and so many other apps to distract them?

The eBook takes a look at data gathered in a 30-day study. It breaks down retention rates, daily time spent playing games, and average daily revenue. It then looks at the top 50 games in the study to uncover the similarities that lead to their success. Its purpose is to provide a knowledge template for developers that are looking to monetize their games using IAP.

A free chocolate. Extra storage. A rare gem. A badge of loyalty. A new character or theme.

We can all agree: everyone loves an unexpected gift. And it doesn’t matter how big or small the gift is, it makes you feel good.

Whether it’s a bonus storefront item or a character upgrade, offering a free gift is a smart, surprise-and-delight monetization tactic that we see developers use to create “happiness in the moment,” as well as to strengthen a game’s loyal fan-base and bottom line over time.

Gifting: a closer look

You want your users to feel good, right?

Of course you do. But you also need to meet your game’s revenue goals by having players visit and buy your in-app-purchase (IAP) items.

Here are three ideas on how to engage users with nice gifts and transform that gift into meaningful revenue down the road:

Increase Player Retention: Sending a small “gift” to your game’s users on a random basis can be a great way to encourage players to return frequently—while adding an exciting element of surprise. This also plays into what social psychologists call the law of reciprocity. Giving an unexpected gift encourages players to respond to your positive action with another positive action. It’s nice to be nice!

Encourage Future IAP Purchases: When a new player finishes their first session of your game, give them a free IAP item as thanks for having tried your game. Many users will recognize the kind gesture and will return to the game later to try the new items, and may be even more likely to check out your IAP store upon their return. Note: Do NOT make this gift contingent upon their visiting your store or buying something first. Experienced players can be cynical when it comes to the “the first one is free” method of marketing IAP items. Make it a genuine, no-strings-attached gift for the best response.

Encourage Re-Engagement: If you want to remind inactive users that your game still exists, consider creating incentives—like extra lives for characters or eye-appealing cupcake toppings—for your customers to encourage them to re-connect with your game. Doing this can remind them why they liked your game in the first place, and can bring them back to re-engage.

Turning a free app into meaningful revenue

Developers who use the freemium model must first focus on building an innovative, engaging game, and then also create high-value IAP content that will delight players. Offering special, unique gifts to introduce players to the value you’ve added in your IAP content is one smart way to showcase that value to potential customers. It could even encourage players to make future purchases and engage for longer, generating meaningful revenue for your game.

The Amazon Appstore is designed to make it easy to manage your IAP catalog, and we have enhanced our In-App Purchasing API to make it easier (and faster) than ever for you to integrate Amazon IAP into your game.

To learn about why IAP should not be an after-thought in game development, but rather a key factor in your design requirements, check out our recent eBook: “In-App Purchasing Lessons from the Top 50 Game Developers”. The eBook highlights the top five actionable insights we uncovered in our recent study focused on the top 50 freemium games in the Amazon Appstore.